She was walking alone through the woods in the early morning, and the sunlight was darting through the leaves, making bright patches on the forest floor. Her heart was as light as the air, and she could feel anticipation rushing through her, as well as happiness that was barely leashed and merely waiting for something – or someone – to set it free in a torrent.
And then she saw him, standing in one sunbeam, his tall, strong figure framed in the sunlight. He met her gaze and smiled, a smile that slowly bloomed across his face, tenderly lighting his eyes – and the smile reached all the way to her heart, unlocking her joy, the exuberant emotion filling her and making her whole.
I have to tell him, she thought, waving to him eagerly and rushing forward to meet him, her heart in her eyes. He met her halfway, the dark smiling eyes never leaving hers, his hand reaching out to her in welcome.
“I’m glad I found you,” he said solemnly as his hand touched hers and enclosed it in the warm cocoon of his palm. “I thought you were lost to me forever.”
“I will never be lost to you,” she said reproachfully, touching his cheek with her free hand with tender gravity. “I l –“
A screaming, high-pitched sound drowned out the rest of her words as a burst of light exploded behind him. In the space of a heartbeat, he fell against her and she staggered at his weight. She glimpsed the dark eyes that had been lit with his smile just a moment ago had turned hard and glassy; the warm cheek under her palm had turned white and cold to the touch.
“Keith? Keith!”
There was no response from him. She could feel no heartbeat but her own, even when he was pressed so close to her that she should hear his. No whisper of breath from the slightly parted lips right beside her ear – close enough to kiss her.
She began to scream, clutching him to her even more tightly, as if the her embrace could bring him back…
“No!”
Allura bolted up in her bed breathing heavily, her face drenched with cold beads of sweat and the warm flood of her own tears. It had been so real – the joy of seeing him and then the searing pain that went through her when she felt him die against her.
She shook her head to push away the nightmare, holding the sheet to her chest and shivering uncontrollably. No, he isn’t dead – if he were, the men searching for him would have found his body a long time ago, she reassured herself, clutching at the hope, faint as it was. It had been two days since Keith was taken – and she knew that whoever took him planned to use him, or else he would have been killed or left in the woods to die slowly. He’s still alive – and we’re going to find him.
She had to believe that. She needed to.
The Worst Enemy -- A Changing of the Guard